Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy donates to homeless shelter

Special to Leader-Press 

School is back is session and that means that Copperas Cove High School students are applying for one of the 30 coveted memberships in the Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy. 
Starting each September, Chick-fil-A Leader Academy students—30 per school—take part in weekly Leader Labs, where they’re guided through an interactive curriculum. Students have the opportunity to put what they’ve learned into action with Do Good December projects, and the seven-month program culminates with student-led Impact Projects in the spring, like a music therapy program for elderly people with dementia.
CCHS Marketing Education Coordinator Charlotte Henize says after students’ witnessed what members of the Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy get to learn and accomplish through the school year, many, many students want to participate. 
“Copperas Cove High School Chick-fil-A Leader Academy worked hard planning, organizing and executing its impact project. The academy held a spring festival at Chick-fil-A Copperas Cove to assist the homeless in our community. Over 85 families from our community attended participating in the activites and enjoying Chick-fil-A dinner. Fifteen percent of sales from the evening was donated to our local Cove House, Giving for Living Campaign. Stephen and Ann Kennedy, Chick-fil-A Copperas Cove Owners along with academy members, Gabriella Gorres, Mara Carter, Jacklyn Perez, and Rylee Oster presented Brian Hawkins, Cove House Executive Director, with a check for $320.62.  
Hawkins said the donation would take care of about 32 families.  
“We are more than just a food bank. We provide a place to stay as well as providing clients with the tools necessary for them to move out of their current situations,” Hawkins said. “We do not want to simply give an individual or family a temporary service and do nothing to keep them from falling back into the conditions they are seeking relief from. They have two weeks to make a strong effort to get their own independent housing and employment. Cove House is a strong believer in empowerment over short-term welfare.” 
Hawkins said $10 will house and feed an entire family for the night, $10 feeds an individual for a week and $10 provides free medical care for someone in need.  
In 2013, Chick-fil-A partnered with ADDO, a leadership development consultancy, to design a program to empower students to make a positive impact in the places they live. Since then, 430 Operators have implemented Chick-fil-A Leader Academy in their communities. Because of this, over 700 high schools, encompassing nearly 21,000 students from 35 states, are creating positive change including in Copperas Cove.